Video conferencing enables participants located at two or more sites to simultaneously interact via two-way video and audio transmissions. A video conference can be as simple as a conversation between two participants located at different sites or involve discussions between many participants each located at different sites and include any shared content such as a video presentation. As high-speed network connectivity has become more widely available at lower cost and the cost of video capture and display technologies continues to decrease, video conferencing conducted over networks between participants in faraway places has become increasing popular. Video conferencing is typically conducted using video cameras and webcams to capture images of the participants; computer monitors, televisions, and projectors to display video images of the participants and any shared video content; microphones and speakers to capture and project voices; and computers to process and send the video and audio signals over a network.
However, many video-conferencing systems are limited with respect to the manner in which shared content, such as photographs, are displayed. For example, consider video-conferencing systems implemented with a screen and a projector to project images of participants and shared content onto the screen. The projector projects the shared content and the participants as a single image onto the same screen. As a result, the resolution of the photographs is lower than desired. Designers and users of video-conference technologies continue to seek improvements in the video-conferencing experience.